Breaking (sort of): Original Port of Ostia Found

French and Italian archaeologists have located the site of the original port of Rome (i.e. Ostia), which has been much disputed over the years. The English coverage of this really doesn’t do the original press release from the CNRS justice, so to quickly summarize, they took core samples from a site near the Imperial Palace northwest of Portus and found a succession of sediment which matches nicely ancient accounts of the original site silting up. Here’s the original press release:

… the original article is accompanied by a photo which doesn’t really add or detract from the piece (looks like a nice Italian field).

If you want an example of the English coverage, here’s AFP via PhysOrg:

French and Italian archaeologists have found the remains of a grain port that played a critical role in the rise of ancient Rome, France’s National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) said on Thursday. Cores drilled at a location at the mouth of the River Tiber have revealed the site of a port whose existence has been sought for centuries, it said in a press release. The port lies northwest of Ostia, which was established by Rome as a fortress gateway to enable trade to pass upriver towards the city and prevent pirates and marauders. The evidence points to a port established between the fourth and second century BC and had a depth of six metres (20 feet), making it accessible to sea-going vessels, the CNRS said. Rome emerged as the prime power of the Mediterranean thanks in part to trade. It imported huge amounts of wheat, especially from Egypt. In the first century AD, the grain port at Ostia was superseded by a giant installation covering 200 hectares (500 acres) at Portus.

rogueclassicism: 1. n. an abnormal state or condition resulting from the forced migration from a lengthy Classical education into a profoundly unClassical world; 2. n. a blog about Ancient Greece and Rome compiled by one so afflicted (v. "rogueclassicist"); 3. n. a Classics blog.